Antiques Roadshow: Providence, R.I.- Hour One

Airs Monday, April 16, 2012 at 10 p.m. on KPBSTV

Friday, April 13, 2012

Credit: Courtesy of Jeff Dunn for WGBH

Above: At "Antiques Roadshow" in Providence, Rhode Island, appraiser Bill Guthman hits the bull's eye when he targets a rare Mathewson rifle, powder horn and log book. Guthman attributes the items, handed down through seven generations of the owner's family, to Welcome Mathewson, one of early 19th-century New England's premier gunsmiths. Declaring the item a "national treasure," and one of the most rare and valuable firearms objects ever appraised on ROADSHOW, Guthman values the collection at $100,000 to $120,000.

Specialists from the country's leading auction houses and independent dealers from across the nation travel throughout the United States offering free appraisals of antiques and collectibles. "Antiques Roadshow" cameras watch as owners recount tales of family heirlooms, yard sale bargains and long-neglected items salvaged from attics and basements, while experts reveal the fascinating truths about these finds.

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Appraisers at the Rhode Island Convention Center encounter a fleet of admirable objects, including a valuable 1850s Massachusetts folk art weathervane, rescued from a demolition site; the 1786 diary of John Francis, son-in-law of John Brown, the prominent Providence merchant whose family name is carried by Brown University; and a rifle, powder horn and log book - attributed to Welcome Mathewson, one of the premier New England gunsmiths of the early 19th century - handed down through seven generations of a Rhode Island family and valued at $100,000 to $120,000.

Miss last week's show? Catch up on your appraisal watching in the "Roadshow" Archive. Search by city, episode, season, and more!

We all know you're not supposed to put all your eggs in one basket, but what if it's a rare Oliver Coffin Nantucket basket, ca. 1870? What this preview from "Antiques Roadshow's" visit to Providence (Hour One), and see if you still believe in the old adage.